Jet Airways shares drop up to 4 pct after grounding of 15 more planes

Shares of Jet Airways Wednesday fell up to 4 per cent after the carrier grounded as many as 15 more planes due to lease rental defaults. With the latest move on Tuesday, its fleet has come down to just 20 from its peak of 123 through which it used to operate over 650 flights across the country and continents. On BSE, the stock opened on a negative note at Rs 257.80 and further declined 3.90 per cent to a low of Rs 254.55. Similarly, on NSE, the scrip touched a low of Rs 254.40, down 4 per cent from the previous close.

"An additional 15 aircrafts have been grounded due to non-payment of outstanding to lessors under their respective lease agreements," Jet Airways had said in a regulatory filing Tuesday. With this, the number of planes grounded on account of lease rental defaults alone touched 69.

The domestic pilots union of Jet Airways, National Aviator Guild, has written to aviation regulator DGCA and airline chief executive Vinay Dube, pressing for payment of three months of salary dues along with applicable interest.